Honda’s not talking about it, but plenty of people are: the Fit, Honda’s popular subcompact that starts selling in the US this spring, will get a hybrid powertrain by the 2008 model year. According to the Japanese newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbum the hybrid version would be sold in the States for around $16,500, making it the least expensive hybrid available and a strong competitor to the hybrid darling of the past few years, the Toyota Prius.

The current Fit will sell in the US for around $13,000. Rumors indicate that Honda is developing a 1.0-liter engine for the hybrid powertrain, as well as a lighter battery and electric motor, even though the Asian automaker already has a 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine in its Insight hybrid. That powertrain makes 73 combined horsepower, so it may simply be a matter of boosting output to carry the extra weight of the Fit, which is around 700 lbs. heavier than the 1,850 lb Insight. The Prius uses a 1.5-liter, 110-horsepower engine to pull 2,850 lbs. The internal combustion Fit generates 109-horsepower and 105-lb.-ft. of torque from its inline four cylinder engine. Honda would not return emails to confirm the Fit hybrid, or its engine plans. No matter what the power, however, building and selling a Fit hybrid at a low price – given the technology advantage Honda enjoys over most of the competition – seems doable. It will essentially spell the end of the line for the two-seat Insight, the first-ever hybrid sold in the US, notable for its unique design and 60-mpg estimated fuel mileage. But it would also give the Prius another genuine competitor, along with the redesigned Honda Civic Hybrid. The Fit, however, would match or better both the Prius and Civic in terms of fuel economy, the convenience of a hatchback configuration -- at a lower price. Civic and the Prius base sticker prices are $21,850 and $21,725. Mostly, a Honda Fit hybrid would make hybrid technology affordable to a wide range of car buyers for the first time.